8. Say how these dates are connected with the history of the media.

1. 1704

2. 1734

3. Early 1800

4. 1833

5. 1896

6. 1988

9.Translate the following phrases. Pay attention to the use of prepositions. Find the sentences where they were used in the text and read them out.

On a charge for

To depend on smb for smth

To enter _ a period

To belong to

To pay attention to

To fight _ government corruption

To be horrified at smth

The reason for smth

To be equipped with smth

10. Fill in the proper prepositions.

1. He depends … his journalists … the latest news coverage.

2. A famous politician was arrested … a charge … bribery.

3. In 2000 the media entered … a period of information technologies.

4. In the XIX century the public’s view belonged … the cheap newspapers.

5. It’s important to pay special attention … lively human interest stories and the crime.

6. St. Louis Post-Dispatch fought … corporate greed and government corruption.

7. Media critics often are horrified at the amount of crimes coverage in most newspapers.

8. The reason … most of the publication trends in journalism are connected with money and celebrities.

9. Practically every home is equipped … at least one TV set.

11. Read the quotations, translate and comment on them.

Start your phrase with:

Example:” Joseph Pulitzer, who introduced the techniques of “new journalism”, said:…”

Find some information about the personality if necessary.

Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911)

“An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery”.

William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951)

“Don't be afraid to make a mistake, your readers might like it”.

Benjamin Day (1810-1889)

“Well, I want you to know how much I appreciate this. Really”.

2 The press in the Roman Empire and in medieval Europe

1. Read the proper names and titles and say what you know about them. If they are unknown for you, find some information in the text.

Julius Caesar

Richard Fawkes

Acta Diurna

The Venetian Republic

The Mercurius Gallobelgious

Herald

Express

Observer

Guardian

Standard

Argus

2. Read and translate the text

The Roman Empire. The urge to inform the public of official developments and pronouncements had been a characteristic of most autocratic rules. This urge was fulfilled in ancient Rome by the Acta Diurna ("Daily Events"), a daily gazette dating from 59 ВС and attributed in origin to Julius Caesar. Handwritten copies of this early journal were posted in prominent places in Rome and in the provinces with the clear intention of feeding the populace with official information. The Acta Diurna was not, however, restricted to proclamations, edits, or even to political decisions taken in the Roman Senate, the actions of which were reported separately in the Acta Senatus (literally "Proceedings of the State"). The typical Acta Diurna might contain news of gladiatorial contests, astrological omens, notable marriages, births and deaths, public appointments, and trials and executions. Such reading matter complemented the usual fare of military news and plebiscite results also given in the Acta Diurna and presaged the future popularity of such newspaper filler and horoscopes, the obituary column, and the sports pages.

Medieval Europe. In Europe, the impetus for regular publications of news was lacking for several centuries after the break up of the Roman Empire. The increased output of books and pamphlets made possible by the development of the printing press in the 16th century did not include any newspapers, properly defined. The neatest form was the newssheet, which was not printed but handwritten by official scribes and read aloud by town criers. News was also contained in the news pamphlet, which flourished in the 16th century as a means of disseminating information on particular topics of interest. One such pamphlet, printed in England by Richard Fawkes, and dated September 1513, was a description of the Battle of Flodden Field. Titled "Trew Encountre", this four-leaved pamphlet gave an eyewitness account of the battle together with a list of the English heroes involved. By the final decade of the 15th century, publication of newsbooks was running at more than 20 a year in England alone, matching a regular supply on the Continent. Authors und printers escaped official censorship or penalty by remaining anonymous or cultivating a certain obscurity for it took a long time before the pamphlets came to the attention of the authorities. In any case the topics most frequently chosen for coverage -scandals, feats or heroism or marvelous occurrences — were mainly nonpolitical and could not be regarded as a threat to the powerful. Governments in various Countries were already in the vanguard of news publishing for propaganda purposes. The Venetian republic set a precedent by charging an admission fee of one gazeta (3/4 — three fourths of a penny) to public readings of the latest news concerning the war with Turkey (1563), this recognizing a commercial demand for news, even on the part of the illiterate. The term gazette was to become common among latest newspapers sold commercially. Another popular title was to be Mercury (the messenger of the gods). The Mercurius Gallobelgicus (1588—1638) was among the earliest of a number of periodical summaries of the news that began to appear in Europe in the late 16th century. Newspaper names like Mercury, Herald and Express have always been popular, suggesting the immediacy of freshness of the reading matter. Other names, such as Observer, Guardian, Standard and Argus stress the social role played by the newspapers in a democratic society. Newspaper development can be seen in three phases: first, the sporadic forerunners, gradually moving towards regular publications; second, more or less regular journals but liable to suppression and subject to censorship and licensing, and, third, a phase in which direct censorship is abandoned but attempts at Control continue through taxation, bribery and prosecution. Thereafter, some degree of independence has followed.